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Michael Korn: Does the Catholic Church perpetuate poverty?

Posted:
03/23/2013 01:00:00 AM MDT

With all the hoopla about the new pope, named after the supposedly humble St. Francis of Assisi, it's important to remember that the man who is termed in Catholic lore as "the most Christ-like man since Christ" was a huge apologist for papal power and authority. Although he renounced worldly wealth and pleasure, Francis never questioned the power structure of the Vatican.

In Francis' day the Vatican was involved in Crusades and Inquisitions of great brutality. He never seemed particularly perturbed by these realities as he swore fealty to his pope.

The new pope is rumored to "champion" the poor while never once questioning the power structures that keep them stuck in grinding poverty in the first place. Indeed the Catholic church seems work to perpetuate poverty, since that fosters a huge underclass of dependents who end up empowering the Vatican.

The new pope apparently studied chemistry in university, so perhaps he will be amenable to examining the claims of creationist and intelligent design scientists who marshal evidence especially from chemistry to demonstrate the absurdities of evolution.

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